The Puppet Master
by for you to notice
Summary: Seth and Zach still have to clean up the mess from their launch party. One shot.


_Just a little something for fun. Comes directly after The Showdown. And I actually like Zach, so be nice to the poor boy. However, I'm sorry, but he's going down. Enjoy._

"Seth, man, get the _hell_ off of me." Zach got off the ground, brushing off the dust and dirt and crap off of his sweater.

Seth came up to his feet too, slightly panting, shaking off the dirt. "Whatever, dude, don't be jealous...because I won."

Zach stood back up, a half grin on his face. "You think you won?"

"I'm just saying...the facts speak for themselves."

"What _facts_, Cohen? I slammed you into the ground."

"Whereupon I rebounded and brought you to your _knees_."

"You couldn't beat me even if you had all of The Ironist's powers."

"Hey, he's only as strong as _you_, The Demon Water Polo Player that makes little children scream and babies cry, made him. I, on the other hand, have the breeding and ability to throw down that one can only achieve when living in Orange County for way longer than you have."

"Oh come on, Cohen, breeding has nothing to do with it. Strength really wins out in the end, and I'm sorry to be the one to say it, but you're small."

"Small? Oh, ha, funny you should say so considering it was _me_ that Summer decided to actually close the deal on, if you know what I mean." Seth winked, grinning, and bent down to pick up some fake, white tree making him ponder why it would be at Atomic County's launch anyway.

"Yeah, after knowing her for, what was it? Twelve, thirteen years? Way to close the deal, dude."

"Okay, I don't know what kind of third grader you were, but I know Summer wasn't the kind of third grader who was going to hook up, so really it's only two years worth mentioning."

"I'm just saying."

"Yeah, well, don't talk about things you don't understand."

"Chill out, Seth, it's true. So why don't you not attack me for not taking advantage of her when _I_ had the chance."

"Fine. Truce. We can just clean up."

"And never talk to each other again."

"Well, not technically, considering we have to work with each other."

"So it'll just be business. But besides the graphic novel, we have nothing to say to each other."

"Fine by me, man."

Zach grabbed a broom lying against the wall. Seth looked up at his face intent on sweeping the floor, and he chuckled.

Zach looked back up, his annoyance obvious on his face. Seth looked up again too, a confused look covering his own.

"What, dude, I didn't say anything."

"You wanna go again, Cohen, because I _will_ 'throw down.'"

"I'm fine, dude, unless you have something to prove to yourself."

"No thanks. I'm good. But if you keep on with your little laughing thing, you better watch out, okay?"

"Whatever, Zach."

"You know, Cohen? Your little quips and so called aloofness aren't going to get to me. I know you have something to say, and you've probably been thinking about it for at least the past half hour."

"Nope, sorry to burst your bubble or whatever, but I don't think about how to get back at you that much."

"Oh really? So Leon was really just bird watching on the same day you confronted me and Summer at the boardwalk."

"I-I don't know, I'm not his keeper."

"Seth..."

"Fine. Maybe he was there on Comic Book Club business."

"I'm _in_ the Comic Book Club, and I don't remember any business being discussed involving binoculars."

"Maybe I called an emergency meeting."

"Seth, man, that's really low. Using eighth graders to spy on me? You're pretty sad, man."

"Some call it sad...some call it devoted. Because I know...that Summer is worth it."

"Just because I haven't slept with her, doesn't mean I don't know she's worth it. Because we may not have had sex, but we have talked. And when I say we, I don't mean just me. We have actual conversations."

"Okay, first of all? I've _so_ had conversations with her too. We can talk about anything, be it the lack of you guys doing it or, like, how much we love each other. And second of all, you had the chance, and you turned her down. Wow, dude, that's very gentlemanly of you. Probably for the best, anyway, because we all _know_ who she would've been thinking of."

"Get over yourself, Cohen. You and Summer are over. Your ship has sailed. Whatever you had, no matter how great you thought it was, is finished. You have to move on."

"No, Zachary, I believe it is you that has to move on. Summer was never even that interested in you in the first place. You were just a decoy while she couldn't have me."

"Because you left her. Speaking about not taking the opportunity and letting something beautiful pass you by, you left her. You left her to find anyone she wanted. Anyone. Even a good, clean-cut, Christian water polo player."

Seth squinted his eyes and shook his head. "No, dude, you did not just pull the religion card."

Zach fumbled quietly with his words. "It's an expression. I mean, you're not even religious, are you?"

"That is not the card at hand. Ah, don't even look at me, Demon."

"No, Seth, you know I didn't mean it like..."

"Whatever, dude. Let's just finish this so I can get home to my good, old, Jewish papa."

"Seth, you know I don't have a problem with..."

"Just drop it."

Seth turned around, a smile slowly coming to his face. Zach really was a nice guy. And he could be played and played with for a fool. Excellent. Seth was still the puppet master. And the puppet master knows which strings to pull; maybe he could even get Zach to just back off and admit defeat. Maybe he'd have to go straight to the source of rivalry, the Little Miss Vixen. It didn't matter where he had to go, or what he had to do, because in the end, good really did finish first over evil Demon Water Polo Players.


End file.
